Behind Her Hazel Eyes
by TheCleverOne
Summary: Kel and Dom are sent out to put a stop to a rebellion. But what happens when the gods interfere? Will Kel be able to stop the rebellion before it's too late? What about the not so small distraction of that certain blue eyed sergeant?
1. Chapter One

Behind Her Hazel Eyes

By Bian

Authoress' Note: This is my first fanfic, so go easy, but tell me the truth.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

* * *

Chapter One: Prologue 

Kel awoke to the sound of incessant chirping. She had to squint to see in the pale light of early morning. Arrow and the rest of the flock sat on the windowsill, pecking and chirping at their empty bowls. Jump lay in a warm lump on her feet. When she wiggled them he woke up and looked at her as if to scold her for disturbing him. He got up off her feet when she wiggled them again, making it easier for her to move around. She stretched, and then climbed out of bed.

Kel hopped up and down on the cold flag stone floor in her dressing room. She quickly changed into breeches and a tunic, grabbed her practice glaive and went back into her bedroom. She propped her glaive up against the bed, and sat down on the floor to begin to stretch.

Soon she was up and ready to go. Before she began her pattern dances, Kel opened the slats on her window, and let the sharp spring sun shine in.

Kel was so wrapped up in her practice, that she didn't hear the knock on the door. It wasn't until someone coughed that she realized she had an audience. She spun and leveled the glaive, but lowered it as soon as she saw who it was.

"Don't you knock?" She asked crossly, laying her glaive on her bed.

Neal smirked and looked at his fingernails. "Only when I know someone will answer." Kel blushed. "How long were you waiting?"

"Not long. Coming to breakfast?" he asked, gesturing to the open door.

"Not yet. I'm not finished. Why are you up so early?" she asked curiously.

"Don't sound so surprised," he said, teasingly angry, "See you later, Kel."

"'Bye, Neal." Kel shook her head at his retreating back. She closed the door, and began again, her mind quickly settling into it's quiet space in the corner of her head, her liar's palace, as the Baron called it, or her quiet place, that Alanna had been teaching her about, with the meditating that Alanna had been teaching to all the knights.

At the end of her morning routine, she took care of her glaive, made sure that Jump and the sparrowshad food and water available, and headed for the mess hall.

As she was leaving her room, Kel ran into Domitan of Masbolle, Neal's cousin, and a sergeant in the King's Own.

"Hello, Kel. How are you?" Dom asked, that familiar sparkle in his bright blue eyes.

"I'm fine. So when did you get back?" Kel asked, looking down at the floor.

"Late last night actually. We should be here for at least a week. At least, that's what Raoul said. He promised he wouldn't send us out for quite a while, because of all the border work we have been doing lately." Dom said, watching her.

"Oh. That's good." Kel said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but failing miserably.

"Kel, are you okay?" Dom inquired, concerned.

"I'm fine, Dom, thanks for asking though. Do you want to come to breakfast with me?" Kel asked, hoping he'd say yes.

Dom nodded, and the two of them walked in silence to the mess hall.When they reached it, they headed for the table at which Neal, Merric and Faleron sat. Kel swung her leg over the bench beside Neal and sat down. Dom sat down next to her.

"Gud mornig, Gel. Again." mumbled Neal, his mouth full of porridge.

"Stuff a little more into your mouth next time, Meathead, Kel almost understood you." Dom joked sarcastically. Neal glared at him.

"So.. what's new, oh sarcastic person that I unfortunately am related to?" Neal retorted, after he swallowed.

"Cut it out you two. It's too early for joking around." Merric moaned. Kel glanced at him. He looked really tired.

"Merric, why are you so tired?" Kel asked, realizing that he hadn't been at the palace last night when she had retired to her room.

Merric only groaned and plunked his head down next to his plate.

"He was riding with my squad. He didn't have the sense to go straight to bed when we arrived though." Dom remarked, watching Merric, an amused look on his face. Faleron chuckled.

"Kel!" a voice called from across the room.

Kel turned to see Raoul weaving around the people and tables trying to get to her. She stood up and met him halfway.

"Yessir?"she asked, wondering what her former knight master wanted.

"Get Dom and Neal when you are finished eating and take them to the stable. I need to talk to all of you. Oh, and Merric and Faleron can come too."Raoul ordered, glancing over his shoulder, "I have to run, but I'll meet you there at the next bell. Okay?"

Kel nodded her consent. He nodded back and left the mess hall.

She returned to the table and realized that while she had been gone, Dom had filled a tray with food for her.

Kel smiled gratefully at him as she took her seat again.

He just smiled back at her and continued eating.

* * *

"There been a change in plans, Dom. I need you to take three squads and lead them to the area you were before, over by Fief Tameran. Something's come up. It looks like a rebellion. Myles is still working on getting some more information. Kel, I need you to take command of a squad. One of my sergeants recently disappeared, and we don't have someone to fill in for him. He was actually working in the area around Feif Tameran. That's all we know. It's dangerous, but that area isn't on showing up in Numair's scrys and he faints every time he trys to see past the fog. As does every other mage that has tried." Raoul said grimly. 

"What squads are we taking?" Kel queried, trying to paint a mental picture of all the squads, but drawing a blank.

"You'll get squad 3, Dom'll get 5, 7 and 8.

Kel nodded her consent. "Where are they?" she asked, wanting to see who she was going to have to convince.

Raoul shook his head, amused. "They are all men who have already worked with you, Kel. Yes, I know what you were thinking. I wasn't your knight master for four years for nothing, you know."

Kel mentally rolled her eyes. "May we go now?" she asked impatiently.

Raoul mockingly scolded her,"Kel! Haven't you learned to respect your elders yet?"

Kel grinned impishly. "Not the ones who admit to being bad men."

She skirted his glove as he tried to swat her on the head with it, and left the stable.

Dom looked at Raoul,"Sir?" he inquired. Raoul sighed.

"Be careful. If Jonathan wasn't so insistant on having me beside him to play puppet with, I'd go myself. It's not looking too good, Dom. Oh, I forgot to give Kel her darking. Would you give it to her for me?" Raoul asked, digging a dark black blobby thing out of his tunic pocket and pouring it into Dom's hand. He nearly dropped it.

"What is it?" he gasped, watching it as it split in two. One blob stretched up and a little voice could be heard,"Darkings here. We help. Aly send us. I be Streak. This Winglet. He new. I new. We help." the little creature repeated.

Raoul held back a chuckle at Dom's amazement.

"Get to it, sergeant." Raoul ordered, and walked away.

Dom stared at the little blobs in his hand and shook his head in amazement. He tucked the darkings into his own tunic pocket and went in search of Kel. He found her in the archery field, working with a longbow.

"Hey, Kel." Dom greeted her.

Kel squeaked and jerked the bow, causing the arrow that she was in the process of shooting to fly off at an angle and only bearly stick into the target she was using.

"Dom!" she cried. Kel's insides tingled. "What's up?" she asked, walking over to the fence that he was sitting on and boosting herself up to sit beside him.

Dom dug the darkings out of his pocket and handed one of them to her. She looked at it curiously.

"Which one are you?" Dom asked Kel's darking. A head stretched up and squeaked, "Winglet" then disappeared back into the main blob.

"It's name is Winglet."Dom informed Kel.

"So I heard." she joked. Dom went a little red, but not enough for Kel to notice.

"Raoul forgot to give yours to you, so he asked me to give it to you for him." Dom told her.

Kel nodded, still a little confused. "What are they for?" she asked suddenly.

Dom froze. "You don't know, do you?" Kel asked, a grin spreading onto her face. Dom shook his head sheepishly. Kel rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Sergeant, let's go find the man who does know."

Dom made a face and hopped down from the fence.

"Just let me take care of my bow and arrows." Kel told him, as she walked toward the target.

Dom sighed and climbed back onto the fence to wait for her.

* * *

Sooooo... what do you think? 

Review please!

Bian

**_Next Chapter: Kel and Dom set out with their squads on their journey to Feif Tameran._**


	2. Chapter Two

Behind Her Hazel Eyes

By Bian

Authoress' Note: Somebody (no names being mentioned) commented on the lack of spaces in the last chapter. I apologize for those errors, and promise to try harder to get my spell check engine to work/ to watch what I am writing. Thanks for reviewing, everybody! Please note there will be more fluff in later chapters, but not right now. Not really, anyway…maybe a little bit…heehee:-)

JSYK: I had to edit this chapter...I forgot to put in the little grey line thingies.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

* * *

Chapter 2: On the Road Again 

Kel walked briskly through the halls, searching for Raoul. It wasn't until she saw Neal that she realized that Dom was no longer with her.

"Oh, bother. Where is he?" she muttered to herself.

"Where's who?" Neal asked, as he fell into step beside her.

"That crazy cousin of yours," Kel grumbled. They reached the mess hall.

"Finally someone agrees with me!" Neal joked, but Kel didn't answer, she was too busy pulling Winglet out of her pocket.

"Dom find Raoul," the little blot squeaked. Neal looked at it, astonished.

"Is that a darking?" he asked, peering at it more closely.

The darking grew a head and bobbed it up and down.

"Alanna told me about them. They're supposed to make excellent spies. Actually, she told me that they were created by a Stormwing in the Divine Realms during the Immortals War, and they are the reason we almost lost," Neal announced, watching the darking suspiciously.

"Oh, leave be, Neal. Raoul gave him to me," Kel said crossly, "speaking of Raoul, how do you know Dom found him?" she inquired to the darking.

"Streak tell me," the darking informed her.

"Really? You can talk to Streak? Could you tell Streak to tell Dom and Raoul to meet me in the stable again, please?"

"Yes," Winglet replied as its head disappeared back into the rest of its body.

"Great. Got to go, Neal, I'll see you at supper. Say hi to Yuki for me if you see her." Kel called as she raced away.

Neal rolled his eyes at Kel's retreating back.

* * *

"Move OUT!" Kel called and brought her glaive down to point in front of herself and Dom. She urged Peachblossom forward as leather creaked and metal jingled behind her. It was a three-day ride to Fief Tameran and Dom and Kel had strict orders from Raoul and the king to arrive as soon as possible. 

"Did Myles tell you anything else?" Kel asked Dom, who rode beside her on his bay mare.

"No. It doesn't sound like he has much information. He asked us to keep him informed and not to hesitate to send for more men. I don't think this is going to be easy, Kel. The last rebellion involved bloodrain and the emperor of Carthak," Dom said grimly, keeping his eyes forward.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Carthak anymore. Not about their army or navy, at least," Kel pointed out.

Dom nodded, but Kel could tell that he wasn't really looking forward to finding out if it was a rebellion they were putting down or not.

They rode on in silence, stopping only when they couldn't see the road without squinting. Kel and Dom ate supper together, and rode beside each other each day. Soon they reached the outskirts of Tameran.

* * *

"Welcome! We did not know we were to play host to so many so abruptly that we do not have any rooms available for you," said the steward, who Kel could tell was at a bit of a loss. 

"That's quite alright. We are all used to sleeping outside," Dom commented in a friendly voice.

Kel nodded and added, "Yes, we'll be fine. Before we leave though, we would like to request an audience with SirBarrem of Tameran, if it is possible."

The steward laughed nervously. "Of course, of course. I will inquire tonight, and send his reply to you first thing in the morning. Until then…" he trailed off, glancing at the door. Kel and Dom recognized a dismissal, and nodded to the steward before leaving the castle.

"Well! He was a little rude!" Dom exploded when they left the castle.

Kel didn't say anything. She agreed with Dom, but wasn't about to tell him, because they were right in front of the men, and already heading for the forest that surrounded the castle.

They made camp, and sat around the bonfire that the men built. Pretty soon, Kel felt the first prickles of tiredness at the corners of her eyes. She said good night to the men and Dom, and retired to her tent.

Kel lay in her bedroll, trying to fall asleep. After an hour of fruitless attempts to relax, she rolled out of her tangled covers and left her tent. Kel stood in front of her tent, not sure if she should leave the circle of tents. After all she was in a strange place, and the only friend she had with her was Dom, and he was asleep. Or so she thought.

Kel walked over to a tree that stood behind her tent, and shinnied up. She had often used her fear of heights to fall asleep in the past, and was planning to use it now, but the tree wasn't tall enough. Instead, Kel straddled a sturdy branch and leaned back against the tree trunk. She sighed and looked at the stars that shone above the treetops.

"I love looking at the stars," a voice announced from below her.

Kel squeaked, and fell off her branch. She landed, gracefully (not!) on top of Dom.

"Ooof!" puffed Dom as he sat down hard, with the help of Kel.

"Dom!" she cried.

"I can't believe I surprised you. I didn't think anything surprised a lady knight." Dom said, sounding out of breath.

Kel scrambled to get off of Dom, and pulled him to his feet. But as soon as she got him, he sat back down, this time with his back against the tree trunk. Dom pulled Kel down beside him. She protested, but Dom just put a finger to his lips and pointed at the sky. A silver flare zoomed across the sky and disappeared.

Dom sighed.

"Why do you like the stars?" Kel asked, turning her head to look at him.

He looked at her. "What?"

Kel repeated her question.

"Oh…well….basically because they're humbling. They make us seem… not so important. You know?" Dom said thoughtfully. He didn't look at her. Kel leaned back against the tree trunk.

_Tell her, you idiot. Just blurt it out _Dom's mind was out to kill him. He turned to look at Kel and his breath caught.

Kel's face was turned up to the sky, her eyes only slightly open. The silver glow of a full moon shone on her face, enhancing every aspect of what he loved about her.

"You're beautiful, Kel." He whispered, before he could think of what he was saying.

He didn't think she had heard, for which he was grateful, but slightly disappointed. But all of a sudden, Kel looked down at her hands in her lap. She sighed, but it was a happy sigh.

Dom's insides turned fuzzy.

They spent the rest of the night at the base of the tree, sitting side by side. Sometime in early morning, Kel dozed off and her head slipped to rest on Dom's shoulder. He froze, then relaxed. That was how Kel awoke, three hours later, to find Dom asleep, and that a huge crick had developed in her neck.

"Dom! Dom, wake up!" Kel whispered, shaking his shoulder, and wincing as her neck protested its harsh treatment.

"Huh? Whaa… oh, good morning Kel," he mumbled, peering at her through squinty eyes.

"Dom, we are going to be late, unless you have developed ability to turn back time!" Kel fairly shouted, losing her Yamani face.

"Late for what?" Dom asked, looking up at her.

"Our meeting with the steward!" Kel informed incredulously.

Dom gasped, " Curse it all, what time is it?" he asked, struggling to sit up.

Just like the night before, Kel hauled him up, but this time, he remained standing.

"Aw, me aching back!" he groaned in a fake accent.

Kel squealed in outrage, and dragged him out of the trees towards their camp. A few men, including Corporal Wolset, were awake and sitting around last night's cold ashes.

"Good morn'n, Lady Kel" said one man. Kel nodded to him, and turned to look at Wolset.

"You're in charge. Sergeant Domitan and I need to get to the keep as soon as possible. While we prepare to leave, I need our horses to be readied. Anyone up to it?" she asked, using a voice that said that if nobody volunteered, she would volunteer him or her herself.

Two men jumped up, and by the time Kel and Dom exited their respective tents in new clothes, Peachblossom and Dagger, Dom's horse, stood ready.

Dom and Kel were headed for the castle within ten minutes.

They arrived at the castle only about half an hour late, but the look they received from the steward made it seem like half a day. He glared at them as they entered Lord Barrem's study.

"Good day, sir," Dom greeted him respectively.

"Good day to you too," he answered.

"The king sent us to relay an important message to you. Our message is simple, and only this. His Majesty will be arriving at this fief in a matter of three days. He wishes us to help you prepare for his visit." Kel announced.

Even as she said them, the word sounded petty and pompous.

LordBarrem looked uncomfortable. "Ah, yes, yes, yes of course. Did the king mention why he was coming?" he asked.

Dom looked shocked. "Only to honor you with his presence. He did mention wanting to speak with you about trade issues with other countries. I wasn't given any other details, being the lowly sergeant that I am." His expression turned cheerful at the last part.

"Ah…right. Well, thank you for your offer to help, but I am sure that my staff will be able to manage," Lord Woldon said smoothly. "If that is all..?"

Kel and Dom nodded and left the room with a bow.

"Honor him with his presence?" Kel asked, trying not to laugh. Dom looked at Kel, pretending to be shocked again, but before he could, two servants passed them, whispering.

Kel caught only snatches of their conversation. "Thirty more men…only fifteen left… gone with no trace…"

Kel and Dom looked at each other but didn't speak. They hurried out of the castle, and mounted their horses. With a final look at the castle, they rode back to the camp.

* * *

Hope you liked it! 

Review please!

As always,

Bian Northwind


	3. Chapter Three

Behind Her Hazel Eyes

By Chavvi Westwind

Thank you for reviewing, to those of you who did anyways :-(. This is chapter three, and I hope you enjoy it.

Please note, I changed something really small in chapter one. Instead of having Dom in charge of two squads, and Kel in charge of one, Kel is acting as a stand in for Raoul, and is in charge of three squads, Dom's, Wolset's and a sergeant's named Balim. Reminder: a squad contains ten men. So that means that Kel is in charge of thirty-three men, while Dom, Wolset and Balim each are in charge of ten men. But I am going to keep Dom as a tiny bit more authoritative figure than the other sergeants. Thanks for your patience:-)

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, and a few characters (mainly the maids and anybody connected to Fief Tameran). Not Balim, he is mentioned in Squire_.

* * *

Chapter Three: The King Delayed 

"A message for his Majesty. Urgent, involving Fief Tameran," the messenger announced.

"Continue," Jonathan commanded tiredly. He looked up from the reports from Myles that were now strewn all over his desk.

The messenger bowed, "The fief is not ready for your arrival, begging your majesty's pardon. The commander and sergeants have found suspicious evidence that may come to show that the suspicions of the spymaster are correct. The fiefs men are disappearing. Less than twenty remain. Message to follow with more information as soon as possible." He took a deep breath and bowed again, to signal that the message was over.

"Thank you," the king stood and the boy bowed again and left the study.

"Gary!" Jonathan called. Gary had an office that was attached to the royalties.

Gary entered and looked at his long time friend and sovereign. "Yes, Jonathan?" he asked.

"Have a runner bring Myles, Raoul, and Alanna. Bring them to the receiving room. Oh, and you might as well bring Nealan of Queenscove as well. I'll be there as soon as I have written to George."

"Sir, Alanna will be able to use her mirror, if it's George that you need." Gary reminded Jon carefully.

Jonathan looked at Gary. "You're right! I'm sorry; I'm a little preoccupied…" he trailed off.

Gary grinned, bowed and left to summon the runner.

"What is it, Jon?" Alanna asked worriedly, watching him carefully, "its Kel isn't it?"

Jonathan nodded, but didn't speak.

"What is it?" Raoul inquired, leaning forward and gripping the arms of his chair.

"Relax," Jon said, seeing Raoul's knuckles start to turn white, "Nothing is certain. I just received a message from Kel saying that the fief doesn't have enough men. As in, less than twenty. Or, at least, that's what the message said. The trip is postponed. I don't know what Kel is going to tell Barrem."

Alanna watched Jon carefully.

"Jon." Something in Alanna's tone brought Jon's head up to look at her.

"Numair, George and I have all found the same thing." She said quietly.

"Found what?" Jon asked, looking at her violet eyes. "What did you find?"

"Nothing."

At first, Jon thought that Alanna was playing a very bad joke on him. But then he realized what she was saying.

"Opaque?" he inquired.

Alanna nodded, watching him for a few moments, and then dropping her eyes to her hands in her lap.

Neal was confused. "What's opaque?"

"It means not clear, cloudy, or thick." Myles informed him, knowing that what he had just said wasn't what Neal was looking for.

Neal glared at Myles, who looked back at him innocently.

Alanna rolled her eyes at her former squire, "All the area within a two mile radius of the keep at Tameran," she informed him.

Neal nodded his understanding. Raoul reached into his pocket, and pulled out his darking, Twig. Twig grew a head, and informed the curious onlookers, minus Jon, "Kel want speak with Giant."

"Giant?" Alanna asked teasingly. Raoul flushed slightly, and muttered, "I tried to teach him my name, he just chose to ignore me… What is it, Kel? What's this about Jon's visit being delayed?"

Kel's face swam into view on the darking's body, which had leapt of Raoul's hand and spread out on the table.

"Dom and I met with Lord Barrem yesterday morning. On our way out we heard the servants talk about disappearing men. They seem to think the disappearances weren't going to stop until there are no men left. Until we're sure of what is going on here, I don't think it would be a good idea to risk the safety of the king," Kel admitted.

Raoul looked at the king to see what he thought of the report. Jon's face was unreadable.

On his way back to looking at the darking screen, he realized that Alanna was no longer in the room.

"Where's Alanna?" he asked the others.

Everyone shrugged. Alanna wasn't the best at farewells.

Raoul rolled his eyes at the woman, and then turned back to Kel's face. But before he could ask her any more questions, he heard in the background (on her end) somebody shout the warning.

Kel's face disappeared and was replaced by a textured surface that was beige coloured and seemed to be moving.

It took Raoul about five seconds to realize that Kel had put the darking into her pocket, and had started walking or running somewhere, probably in the direction on the shout.

Raoul grinned. The likeness of the two lady knights astounded him.

Twig formed a blob again and said in its high squeaky voice, "Kel gone. Girl found in woods." It winced. "Say bad words."

"Who? Kel?" Raoul asked.

"No. Girl found in woods," it repeated.

Raoul rolled his eyes again, and put his darking back into his own pocket, bowed to the king, and left with Myles and Neal.

* * *

Kel ran in the direction of the call, making sure her glaive was ready, and her hidden daggers easy to reach. 

Dom looked at her as she passed, an unspoken query readable on his face.

Kel shook her head, a signal to stay put, that she wanted them to stay where they were.

Dom nodded and continuing sharpening his daggers.

Kel slowed to a walk as she reached the edge of the trees. Just as she was about to enter the woods, two men struggled out.

Their difficulty was due to the wildly struggling girl that they held between them. She tried in vain to scratch at her captors, but they avoided her hands with ease. Kel could see that the girl had managed to land a few well-aimed scratches on the men's faces, most of them near their eyes.

Kel nodded her thanks to the men, and gripped the girl's upper arm.

The girl looked at Kel and froze.

Kel gentled her grip and led the girl to a log in the circle of tents, so that Kel or the men would have half a chance to catch the girl if she decided to bolt.

The girl sat down, and at once burst into speech, "You got no right, you know that? I ain't done nothing wrong."

Kel raised an eyebrow. The girl glared at her.

"Okay, so I shouldn't have left, but do you want to disappear? They're dropping away like flies, they are, an' I ain't gonna wait aroun' to be told to run. No ma'am, I'se leaving whilst I can." The girl's grammar was awful, and Kel winced inwardly. It reminded her of what Tobe used to sound like, before she had given a few lessons.

"We don't mean you any harm. We just want to know a few things. Ask a few questions. Would you mind?" Kel asked, trying to reassure the girl.

Dom hid a smile when he heard Kel's way of interrogating the girl.

The girl looked suspicious, but she shook her head in answer to Kel's question.

"First off, what are your name and your position?" Kel asked, not wasting any time.

"M' name's Selida, I'm a maid under Lord Barrem," the girl mumbled.

"Selida, why are you running away?" Kel asked, staring at the girl's downcast gaze.

Selida looked up at Kel and spat.

Kel jerked back and the spittle landed instead in the dirt.

"Selida, I want you to answer me one question. How many men are left?" Kel asked, hoping that her information from the servants was correct.

Startled, Selida looked at Kel, her big blue eyes filled with worry.

She sighed, and looked at Kel again.

"You gonna try t' put a stop to it, or sumthin'?" Selida asked sincerely, for once sounding like the bedraggled girl that she was, and not foreign royalty.

Kel nodded and added, "We're going to try. Do you want to help us?"

Selida hesitated, and then nodded.

Kel smiled. "Good. Now could you answer my questions?" Selida nodded.

Half an hour later, Kel had drawn up a grim summary of the situation.

She fed Selida, and sent her to bed in some spare blankets in Kel's tent.

While the girl slept, Kel gathered Dom, Balim and Wolset.

"Here's what I've found out from Selida. There are twenty men left at the castle, there used to be forty. The first disappearance occurred last week, when ten men went out into the woods. Selida doesn't know why. Ever since then, about five men have disappeared every two days. Sometimes they are in groups, sometimes they go out alone. Selida and some of the other maids noticed that all the men that disappeared were young and new. Also, all the disappearances occurred north of the castle. Not sure if that's important, but, hey, we need all the information we can get right now," Kel said grimly. The men nodded.

"Dom, I want you to contact Raoul, and tell him what's happening, or at least, what we know. Balim and Wolset, I need two men from each of your squads who don't question orders and are good trackers and can be quiet when stepping on dry twigs. I'm going to be investigating the area north of the keep. While we're gone, Dom's in charge. If anything goes awry, I want to know about it right away. We leave in ten." Kel ignored the confused looks that Balim and Wolset wore and strode away to her tent.

She was about to enter, but she realized that Selida was still in there, sleeping.

Not wishing to disturb her, Kel snuck in, grabbed her bow and arrows and her extra daggers and left again. She stalked over to the picketed horses and greeted Peachblossom and Hoshi.

"Be good. Do as they ask. I'll be back in a day or two." Kel whispered softly.

Peachblossom snorted and looked over her shoulder.

Dom stood behind her.

"We'll take care of them, I promise," he told her.

"I'm not worried about them, I'm worried about you, and what will happen to you when you try to take care of them." Kel joked.

Dom grinned and touched her shoulder.

She smiled, and he walked away.

True to her word, Kel and the men that Wolset and Balim had selected were walking through the thick woods within ten minutes. They carried only enough food for two days. Kel didn't plan on staying out longer than that.

* * *

Soooo…what do you think? 

Was it long enough? Do you know how hard it is to tell just how long a chapter will be? I mean, honestly, in Word, this chapter is SIX STINKING PAGES LONG! I better be seeing lots and lots of reviews…;-)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Can you please review? Pretty please? I only received four reviews for the last chapter. sob sob

Ah, another note to add. Barrem used to be Wolden but people got confused between him and Wyldon, so I changed his name. If you notice that I missed changing his name somewhere, I'd really appreciated it if you could let me know so I can look for it and change it. Thanks!!

As always,

Bian

**_Coming Up: Tension between Kel and Dom, and you get to meet a god. Start practicing your bows/curtsies... :-)_**


	4. Chapter Four

Behind Her Hazel Eyes

By Bian Northwind

Thank you to those of you who reviewed. Those of you who didn't: Shame on you!

Okay, I was bored, so I decided to write and post the fourth chapter. I didn't think that my reviewers would mind. I couldn't include everything that I said I would in this chapter, and I apologize. Lo siento, lo siento.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Duh!

* * *

Chapter 4: Investigations and Travels

A sparrow chirped and trilled as it weaved in and out of the trees. It landed on a branch and hopped around, looking below it intently.

Kel sighed. She and the four men had been scouting for the past two days, and so far they hadn't found anything but mud puddles from the rain last night.

She whistled, a low clear sound that pierced the trees around her and brought the men she was out with running to her.

Kel shook her head, and the men nodded.

They made their way back to the camp. A scout gave the warning shout when he saw them, but then the scout saw who it was and called the all clear.

Kel whistled for Jump and entered her tent. She sighed happily. It might not be her real home, but it was as good as it was going to get while she was on this mission.

"Kel! Kel, where have you got to?" a voice called from outside.

"Coming!" she replied. She ducked out of the tent and saw Dom dashing towards her.

"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm when she saw his white face.

"I need to talk to you. All the sergeants do. Oh, thank the gods you're back, Kel. Three men went missing yesterday. I tried to contact you through Winglet, but every time my darking tried to connect with Winglet, it squealed and made its head disappear! It hasn't said anything to me since!" Dom exclaimed frantically.

"Hold on one second, Dom. Where were the men when they disappeared?" Kel asked.

"They were going to find you. I had tried to contact you, and it hadn't worked, so I sent them out to try and find you," he explained.

Kel stared at him, confused. "Why did you try to contact me?"

Dom blushed. "Raoul got mad at me for letting you go out alone in an insecure area. " he muttered and walked away.

Kel rolled her eyes, and then turned her attention to the matter at hand.

She pulled Winglet out of her pocket and poked it.

"Winglet! Get hold of Twig for me, would you?" she whispered to it.

The blob shook for a moment, and then spread in her hand to reveal Raoul's face again.

"Kel? What's up? How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Why were you worried about me?" she inquired.

Raoul looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Dom told me that you got mad at him for letting me go scouting. You of all people should know I can take care of myself," Kel protested.

"I haven't spoken to Dom since you left the city. I didn't even know you were going scouting. How did it go? Find anything interesting?"

"No. Just lots and lots of trees. Do you think I should be worried about them?" Kel joked, concealing her true feelings behind her mask. Why had Dom lied to her?

Raoul looked at her curiously. His face disappeared for a moment. "Just a second, Kel. Someone wants to talk to you," he informed her as a new face came into view on Winglet.

"Neal!" Kel cried.

"Hi Kel. I hear my dear cousin has been pulling your leg. Just tell him that Neal told him to smarten up. That'll set him straight," Neal teased her.

"Of course it will. So, how's Yuki?" she questioned

Neal shrugged. "She's fine. Still as witty as ever."

Kel grinned, and nodded. "That's good. Oh, can I talk to Raoul again?"

Neal pretended to be hurt. "What, too busy being a hero to talk to your best friend?" he asked, pouting. Kel glared at him. "Fine…going away now…Raoul, she wants to talk to you again."

"Raoul, three of my men disappeared," she blurted out when he replaced Neal.

Raoul gasped. "How? When? Where were they?"

"Unknown at current time, yesterday, north of the keep, looking for me," she informed him grimly.

Raoul winced. "Did Dom send them?" he asked. Kel nodded. "Why didn't he just contact you with the darkings? That _is_ why I sent them with you," he griped.

"Apparently, something up there is blocking their communications," Kel informed him.

"Kel, that's impossible. Numair did some experiments on them after you left. He couldn't even disrupt their waves. They're divine magic, Kel, created in the divine realms, from Stormwing spells. The only thing that will stop them is…oh no. This might be worse than I thought, Kel," he admitted.

"You think?" she laughed sarcastically.

"Kel! Snap out of it! What is with you? Are you sure you're okay?" Raoul was starting to become really worried.

Kel covered her eyes with one hand, and took a deep breath. _I am stone. I am a smooth clear lake _she told herself sternly.

"Yes, Raoul, I'm fine. First time dealing with the gods' jitters, I guess. I have to go. Peachblossom just decided it was too calm around here," Kel lied.

"Okay, Kel. Keep in touch." Raoul told her. Kel put Winglet into her pocket, and stood under a tree as she thought about what she had to do, and when.

"Find Dom," she told herself.

Kel nodded to herself, and walked towards Balim and Wolset.

"Where's Dom? I have news," she barked.

They shrugged, and started asking around.

"They'll never find him," she muttered, remembering Dom's skill at hiding and staying hidden.

She dug Winglet out of her pocket once more, and called on Dom's darking.

"Dom! Campfire in two minutes," Kel growled when he finally answered his darking's incessant trilling.

He nodded, and disappeared.

* * *

Kel sat on her cot in her tent, trying to decide if she should have confronted Dom about his orders. After all, three men had gone missing. That wasn't exactly something that Kel could just ignore.

She had just come from her meeting with Balim, Wolset and Dom. They had given her no information that Dom hadn't already.

Kel sighed and closed her eyes. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "What am I going to do, Jump?" she asked the dog, who sat looking at her as if he didn't know her.

He watched her for a moment, then stood up and stuck his cold, wet nose in her face.

"Eww! Jump!" Kel protested. She wiped her face on her sleeve and glared at him.

Jump wagged his crooked tail and trotted out of the tent.

Kel sighed again, and stood up. She followed Jump out of the tent, and went in search of Dom.

She found him in the woods, up a tree, staring into space.

Kel swung up to sit on the branch beside his.

"Dom." She said quietly.

"You found out didn't you." It wasn't a question. He already knew the answer.

Kel ignored his reply. "Dom, as your commander, I should ask you why you sent the men out to find me. But I'm not going to. Instead I am going to ask you to help me put it right. Men don't simply disappear off the face of the planet, Dom. Something is happening to those men, and I intend to find out what. I'm going whether you are or not. Tomorrow morning," she said quietly but firmly. Without waiting for his reply, she swung down from her branch and headed back to her tent.

"Balim, Wolset. I need someone to send a messenger to the queen. I'm going to need the Riders," Kel announced, her voice deadly calm, her face set and devoid of emotion.

She saw a flicker of contempt on Balim's face, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared.

"How many?" Wolset asked, walking beside Kel in her march towards her tent.

Kel turned to face him. "One should do it," she told him after a pause.

Wolset nodded and ran off to find a messenger.

Kel smiled grimly. "Here we go," she murmured as she entered her tent. "Here we go."

* * *

True to her word, Kel set out in the morning. She hadn't gone far before Dom rode up beside her. He didn't say anything, but Kel could see how hastily he had dressed and saddled up. She hid a grin, but continued to walk Peachblossom calmly northward. Dom followed.

* * *

Kel glanced up at the sky and grimaced. Those clouds weren't going to let up any time soon.

"Where did you tell them to go?" Kel asked, surveying their surroundings with a cautious eye, trying to ignore the rain that was slowly seeping down the back of her neck.

"I didn't. I just told them to find you," Dom admitted, also watching the trees that reached for the sky on all sides of them. Kel nodded, to show him that she had heard, but her mind was elsewhere. She could have sworn she had seen a gold and blue flash from behind that tree.

Dom followed her gaze to the tree in question and blinked. "Did you just—" he began, but Kel cut him off with a jerk of her head. She dismounted; leaving Peachblossom ground tied, and crept wearily over to the tree. Kel pulled her glaive from its sheath, making only the ghost of a noise as she did. Kel motioned Dom to dismount and join her.

When he stood beside her with his sword unsheathed, she held up two fingers. Slowly she lowered a finger…and then another. They leapt around opposite sides of the tree, and leveled their weapons.

There was a blinding flash, and Kel threw her other hand up to shield her eyes. Sunspots danced before her. She closed her eyes tightly.

All of a sudden, Kel felt something squeeze her. She fought to draw air into her lunges, but there was none. Kel felt her arms snap to her sides and her mouth shut. Blackness enveloped her and held her. She felt it squeeze tighter, and tighter, and tighter, until…

The pressure disappeared. Kel opened her mouth to take in a huge breath of air. Whatever had blinded her was just a memory now; the sunspots were fading rapidly. Kel felt her knees collapse under her. That was the last thing she observed, before she blacked out.

* * *

(A/N: This would have been a great place to stop the chapter, but I was feeling nice today and decided not to put you through any misery. You can thank me later.)

* * *

Kel came to in a small shack type thing. She could hear voices right beside her head, through a wall.

She sat up and looked around. The room wasn't anything spectacular, and was definitely not in the area that she had fainted in. The air was cold and crisp, almost like that of Mindelan in the winter. Kel swung her legs over the edge of the bed and paused to check for injuries. Nothing major. The worst was a shallow cut on her cheek. She only found it because she put her hand to her cheek and it came away slightly bloody.

Kel winced, and looked around for something to clean it with. She spotted a basin sitting on a small wooden stool, and cautiously made her way over to it. Kel stared at the water in it suspiciously, not daring to trust that it was poison free. It looked normal, but then again so did Peachblossom.

Kel sighed, and decided not to risk it. Germs would spread slowly, but if poison entered her bloodstream, she was a goner. Kel slowly hobbled back to her cot, and sat down. She felt like a herd of stampeding horses had just trampled her. Her head was developing an ache, that Kel knew wasn't going to be easy to ignore.

She looked around the room again. Her eyes came to rest on a door. With a handle. Kel rubbed her eyes, and stood up once more. The room wobbled before her, and she paused. When the dizziness had cleared, Kel walked stiffly over and pulled on the handle.

The door wouldn't budge. She could turn the handle but the door wouldn't open. She heaved on it, cursing the aches that ran up and down the back of her legs and over her shoulders. All of a sudden, the door opened, and in fell Dom. Once again, he fell on top of her.

"Oof! Dom! Dom, am I glad to see you!" she cried, as a crimson-faced Dom struggled to rise. She pulled him into a hug, and then realized what she was doing. Kel froze, then withdrew her arms from around Dom's neck. He cleared his throat, stood up and pulled Kel up too.

"Where, uh, where are we? Do you know?" Kel inquired, not unembarrassed.

He looked at her gravely. "Kel, we're in the Divine Realms."

* * *

Okay people, it's that time again. It won't hurt at all, I promise. Please? I promise that I will try to find time to update again ASAP, but I am also trying to write a Harry Potter fic, because I have this idea, and I think it might actually work. Knock on wood. bangs on own head with fist I am going to try to write at least the first two chapters before I make it a real story. Also, I have a half written one-shot about Alanna. Not going to tell you what it is though. This way it will be a surprise. Hahahaha.

Review please!

As always,

Bian Northwind

**_Next Chapter: Kel and Dom meet up with a god.  
_**


	5. Chapter Five

Behind Her Hazel Eyes

posted August 29, 2008

By CleverOne28

Omgoodness... it's been a loooong time. I'm finally back...this time hopefully for good. The Alanna one-shot fell through, so fuhgeddaboutdat... and well...the HP fic has already been posted. I decided I should probably update this story instead of creating a new one. Plus, I've finally figured out how it's going to end. :) Amazing me...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

Chapter 5: To Believe The Unbelievable

Kel stared at Dom.

Instead of scoffing, or showing any sort of reaction to his startling declaration, she strode past him out the door.

She stopped about two feet after crossing the threshold, because that was where the land ended.

Kel took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She slowly edged backwards until she was standing next to Dom in the doorway again.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" he asked.

Kel nodded slowly. Although she had overcome her fear of heights, she had just been standing with her toes on the very edge of the tallest cliff she'd ever seen in her life, definitely not a cliff you could find in the mortal world.

"Maybe you should sit down," Dom suggested worriedly.

Kel nodded weakly again, and slid down the door frame to sit with her head between her knees.

She felt Dom bump her shoulder as he sat down beside her.

"Kel...I've talked to the god...er...gods...that brought us here. They're around here somewhere," Dom told her, trying to distract her.

Kel finally lifted her head. Her face was pale, and tense.

"They brought us here? Why?" she responded.

Dom shrugged, and replied, "Same reason everyone else is here. Some kind of revenge, I think."

Kel hummed in answer and stood up again.

"You said everyone else is here?" she clarified.

Dom nodded. "They're around back with the god...s."

Kel shot him a curious look at his second correction, but stood without saying anything, and walked around to the back of the house, carefully avoiding the edge of the cliff once again.

Luckily, the edge of the cliff continued away from the cottage in a straight line, so once Kel left the front of the cottage, she no longer felt any effects from her fear of heights.

She could hear Dom saying something to her from behind her, but she wasn't paying any attention to him once she rounded the corner to the back of the cottage.

Kel stopped short at the sight in front of her.

None of the missing people were anywhere in sight. Instead, a group of young girls, ranging from about 8 to 16 or 17 years old, were... flying? in strange formations, low to the ground.

Each was dressed in pale blues and greys. Their tunics were loose, and the sleeves long, wide and flowing. Each was barefoot. Under the abnormally long tunics, Kel could see skirts on the bottom, and high-necked shirts.

She squinted her eyes to try to focus on one of the girls, but found that each girl simply became more blurry the harder Kel looked at them.

One of the oldest girls in the group slowly drifted down to land silently in front of Kel.

Up close, Kel discovered that only the edges of the girls were blurry, as if the edge of a painting had been soaked until all the colors faded to nothing instead of having definite edges.

The other girls landed in a cluster behind the first girl.

Their stares were unnerving. Every single girls' eyes were a different shade of grey, from nearly black to almost white.

The younger the girl, it seemed, the darker her eyes.

The girl in front of Kel had the lightest eyes, and long, thick black hair. Her face was gentle, round, but her large, almond-shaped eyes and her prominent cheekbones strengthened her looks until Kel felt like she was staring at a young, grey-eyed Thayet.

"Welcome. You are Keladry of Mindelan, are you not?" the girl asked, staring straight at Kel. "I am Alcyone. This is my sisters."

Kel carefully avoided staring, as the girls slowly merged together. Their faces glowed slightly, and she could make out their individual features (although they all looked scarily alike), but she was no longer able to tell where one ended and the next began.

Kel counted eight glowing faces.

Alcyone introduced each of the girls, and though Kel heard their names, she was unable to tell which name belonged to which girl.

"Merope, Asterope, Maia, Taygeta, Eleckra, and Celaeno," Alcyone announced.

"Thank you." Kel said cautiously, not sure how to respond.

The girls seemed to accept that, and without further comment, began to fly again.

Kel turned to Dom, and was annoyed to see a small grin of amusement on his face.

Kel frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. What do you think of them?" he asked, changing the subject.

"They're different. Who are they, exactly? Are they the god you were talking about?"

"Yes, that's the Pelidesa. It's a little unnerving, but you get used to her."

Kel hmmmed her understanding, and turned to watch the god (gods? she still wasn't sure) flying again.

Alcyone stopped again, the others following closely behind her.

"Why are we here, Alcyone?" Kel asked abruptly.

"You've been brought here so you can understand."

"Understand what, exactly?"

"Why you were brought here, of course."

Kel struggled with her mask.

"Kel, someone at Fief Tameran asked them for help," Dom explained.

"Help with the rebellion? Or the disappearances?" she asked.

"Whoever they were, they asked the Pelidesa to help them stop the rebellion," he corrected.

Kel was a little confused, and trying hard not to show it. Why would the Pelidesa bring her and Dom to the realms of the gods, if they (she?) had been asked to help stop the rebellion?

"You should not have come through the portal, Keladry," one of the sisters said, her voice sounding like two people speaking in synchronization. "You are needed in the mortal world."

Kel resisted the urge to snort in derision.

"Why was I brought here then?" she asked.

"You were not. Neither of you were. You came, you were not brought." one of the smallest of the girls said indignantly.

"My apologies. How do we return?" Kel asked, realizing that it would be fruitless to insist the god was at fault here.

The glowing faces shrank closer together.

"We will send you back. You are needed in the mortal world." Alcyone repeated her sister's words.

"Thank you," Kel said, relieved.

Dom gave a short bow, and then left in the direction of the cabin.

Kel followed his example, and left the girls to continue flying.

"Dom," Kel called, "Dom, wait up." She winced inwardly, and wished she hadn't said anything.

He paused and looked back at her in surprise.

"What's wrong, Kel?" Dom asked.

"Nothing, why?" she answered, stopping beside him.

He shrugged. "Thought you wanted to say something."

She shook her head, and gestured toward the Pelidesa.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" she asked.

"Hard to tell," Dom grumbled. "But I don't think they're in any rush, for all they're insisting we're needed."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they edged around the corner of the cabin, and back inside.

Kel decided not to go inside at the last second, and stopped at the doorway.

Dom, who was behind her, looked at her questioningly when she turned and gestured for him to go ahead inside.

He tried to squeeze past her, but the doorway was not built to let two people through at once. She leaned back until the doorframe was pressed between her shoulder blades, but it still wasn't enough for Dom to avoid brushing against her front.

Kel hoped the heat in her face was just her imagination, because if it wasn't, she knew she'd be as red as a tomato.

Dom grinned at her and continued into the cabin.

She sat down on the threshold hard and ignored him as well as she could.

Inside the cabin, Dom was inwardly laughing at her embarrassment and at his own stupidity. Sighing at his own foolishness, he lay down on the narrow bed and closed his eyes.

Neither said anything. Kel focused on regaining her composure, and sat staring at the edge of the cliff. There was no other land visible past the edge, and she wondered if she was strong enough to look again at how high the cliff was.

She shifted onto her hands and knees and inched forward, crawling, to the edge of the cliff.

When her head reached the edge, she lay down on her stomach, and peered over the edge.

The drop made her eyes water, and her breath hitched.

It was a long way down. She stared down, controlling her breathing, and succeeding in not panicking, but it was close.

Carefully, slowly, she inched away from the edge again. She leaned against the door frame, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.

Dom sat up, watching her. He'd heard her move away from the door, but hadn't looked for her until she'd gasped at the drop.

Kel finally opened her eyes again, and saw Dom watching her. Her mask immediately went back in place, and she grinned at him. "Easier every time," she said breezily.

He rolled his eyes and grinned back at her.

Kel stood up and dusted off her hands.

"I'm going to go and ask the Pelidesa a few more questions," she announced, and left.

Dom sighed, and followed her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Alcyone stared at Kel and Dom innocently.

"You're sure you don't know her name?" Kel pressed.

"If I did, I still wouldn't tell you," the twin glow, Asterope, announced.

Maia giggled, and was shushed by Alcyone with a pointed look.

"Well, if we believe one of them, we have to believe all of them," Dom pointed out.

Kel let her shoulders relax just a bit, but didn't stop staring at the Pelidesa. She and Dom had long since figured out which sister was named what.

Merope was the same height as Alcyone, but her eyes were a shade darker, as were her clothes.

Asterope's voice sounded like two people saying the same thing at the same time, and was a few inches shorter than Merope with gray eyes that had a slightly paler center, instead of the usual black pupil of mortals. After Asterope came Taygeta and Eleckra. Taygeta was the quietest of the girls. Her eyes were almost exactly like Asterope's, except they had a slim ring of black around the very edge, with the gray faded into it. Eleckra's eyes had a slightly wider black ring than Taygeta, and only came up to the bottom of Kel's ribs. Celaeno's eyes were gray in the center, with only a pinprick of white, and an even wider ring of black than Eleckra's. Then came Maia, who had the most black in her eyes, and the least gray and white. She was clearly the youngest, barely reaching Kel's waist.

Kel and Dom had come to realize that the shorter the girl, the younger she seemed. Also, the darkness of her clothes depended on how tall she was too. Maia's clothes were nearly black when she was flying.

When she stood still with the other girls, depending on who she stood by, her face's glow would be surrounded by different shades of gray. Alcyone made Maia's clothes the same color as Taygeta's.

"Can gods lie?" Kel muttered to Dom.

"How should I know, I'm not-" he started to return, when Maia interrupted.

"No, we can't. Our word changes the state of your world. If we say it is so, it is," she said calmly, her glowing face pointed up at the sky.

Dom shot a slightly weirded out look at Kel, causing her to giggle behind her mask.

Maia's glow jolted all of a sudden, as if she had stumbled or been nudged.

Asterope's glow was next to Maia's, and she cleared her throat, watching Maia.

Maia sighed, and corrected herself, "As long as mortals aren't involved. That's a bit more complicated."

"Involved?" Dom asked. To Kel, he said, "Does that include not knowing their names, do you think? Maybe they lose their identity if the gods pretend not to know them," he joked.

Kel shot him a look of her own, and turned her attention back to the Pelidesa.

"If you don't know her name, do you know where to find her?" Kel asked.

"Of course. We are a god, after all." Merope said, sounding affronted.

Kel resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the weirdness of the god's plurals. "Where is she?" she asked instead.

"Close to Feif Tameran. We can send you to her, if you would like." Alcyone offered.

Kel glanced at Dom, who shrugged and nodded.

"We'd appreciate it." Kel told her.

There was a blinding flash, then darkness, and Kel blacked out for the second time in one day.

* * *

So...you should all be sending in reviews right about now, unless you're holding a grudge about it taking such a long time for me to update. I hope that's not the case. Reviews are loved! And I've already started the next chapter so expect it within the next week.

So mote it be.

Clever

* * *


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